Job-hunting can be an extremely tedious task. Around 4 million students graduate each year, and given how globalized the world has become, the competition for the average applicant can be exceedingly high.
The general consensus among students is that they are better off working for the big multinational firms who have lavish offices with sleeping pods and a 10 stage interview process. How cool is it to tell your friends that you work at a company like Google or Amazon? Imagine how many likes that LinkedIn announcement post would get.
But apart from social clout, is working for these huge companies the best first step a fresh graduate can take? One advantage that a well established company will tell you that it has over a start-up is the fact that it is considered safer.
By safer, I specifically mean that such companies have more structured career paths, a very low probability of going bankrupt, and an already set manner to perform most tasks on the job; however, do you really care about any of the above if you are just kicking-off your career?
Some of you might answer ‘yes’ to the previous question, but given that you reached this point in an article that literally advocates for start-ups in its title, here are three reasons why you might want to start your career at a start-up instead:
- Exposure to different business departments
In a start-up environment, everyone’s day to day revolves around trying to achieve the same goal: growing the business. It’s the marketing department’s job to increase exposure, while other departments like operations and tech need to make sure that the company is ready to handle the demand that comes its way. Given how every department can directly affect the other, individuals will have to work side by side with colleagues from different departments to ensure proper coordination and to avoid any problems that might arise.
This factor can be a huge bonus for fresh graduates, as not only does it allow them to see how other departments function operationally, but it also allows them to get a general overview on how this coordination can help a business get off the ground. This is especially beneficial if the individual decides to start their own company later in their career.
Working with other departments is not only beneficial for individuals who want to start their own businesses though. Day to day engagement with colleagues can also improve a variety of soft skills like strategic communication, active listening, and decision making. These skills can be a huge added bonus to someone’s resume if they eventually decide to venture past the start-up environment.
2. More responsibilities and faster promotions
A structured career ladder is something that new hires usually ask for when joining a new business, it allows them to clearly define what their responsibilities are and how long it will take them to reach the next level in their respective position. I’m not insinuating that having a proper progression system is bad per se, but start-ups usually have non-linear and less rigid career ladders which can offer individuals much more opportunities to grow.
Big companies usually have a very large number of employees split into many different departments and sub-departments. This means that an individual will most likely be working in a team that reports to a manager, who in turn reports to another manager, who reports to another manager after him… you get my point. This makes it very tough for hard work to be properly recognized by the firm, as even a good comment about your work from your direct manager can get lost in translation as it climbs the corporate ladder. To make things easier, these firms tend to have specific timelines for individuals to get promoted as long as they achieve what is expected from them. The timeline is usually split into specific dates in a given year where managers perform annual reviews of their employees and promote them accordingly.
The above system can really undervalue employees who are doing a good job and who deserve to be promoted faster and take on more responsibilities than their colleagues. Many firms are using tactics such as fast-track promotions for over-achievers, but that still confines them to a rigid progression system.
In start-ups on the other hand, when an individual out-performs by taking initiatives and completing major projects, their efforts are directly realized by everyone given how much of an impact their actions have on the entire firm. This allows individuals to take on more responsibilities as start-ups are also quite flexible when it comes to assigning projects to employees who show interest.
With the huge amount of opportunities that come your way at a start-up, you would be surprised with how fast employees can get promoted to senior positions due to the recognition of their reliability and hard work.
3. Stock option agreements
A stock option agreement or an option grant is a mean for start-ups to encourage individuals to join their teams. The firm would offer new joiners share options of the business itself which the employee can exercise and sell at a later date to make a few extra bucks.
Now it is easy to see how these agreements can encourage employees to join a start-up, as they offer the most common type of incentive which is the monetary incentive. However, I believe that these agreement offer something much more fulfilling than money for new joiners. They offer a sense of purpose.
Quiet Quitting is a term that we’re hearing of quite often in the business world nowadays. The term refers to employees who put in minimum effort toward their jobs and avoid doing more than their basic tasks on a given day. Quiet Quitters are merely maintaining their positions by performing their primary responsibilities while avoiding any other value added activities such as non-mandatory meetings, staying late when necessary, or starting early.
What is driving more and more individuals to become Quiet Quitters nowadays? Lack of purpose. It is very easy for employees to lose their drive and passion towards their job when they feel like all the effort they are exerting is going toward someone else’s benefits. Yes these employees are getting paid wages to give their firm 8 hours of work a day, but it is becoming more clear that wages are not enough to make employees go above and beyond their responsibilities.
This is where a stock option agreement can be a big added benefit for employees. When an individual feels like they are also benefiting from the firm growing and doing better in the future, longer hours and meetings become less of an inconvenience, and more of an activity that gets them closer towards their goals. Aligning the firm’s goals with the employees’ goals is where stock option agreements really play a positive role early in someone’s career.
If you reached this point in the article, I would love to know your thoughts on the above. Do you agree with starting your career at a start-up? Or would you rather work at a well established firm instead?
